Branding Yourself is Hard

We advertise that we help businesses build their brand. It only makes sense that we are able to do the same for ourselves, right?
We have developed a process to help us understand our clients — in short, who they are, what they do, and what their goals are. These are the core questions we need to know to start building a successful brand.

I haven't been on the receiving end of such questions until we wanted to build our own brand, and it was hard! Here's the biggest takeaways from our own answers:

Our mission: As a creative services company, we leverage technology to craft unique marketing solutions for small businesses and nonprofit organizations worldwide.

Our vision: As a trusted partner, we will use technology to connect clients with their audiences, in turn achieving their goals and earning their continued business.​

Defining a mission and vision can help focus the direction you want to steer your business, both in terms of branding and day-to-day operations. Does your company have a mission and vision that drives what you do?

Our elevator pitch: We are a full-service marketing and communications firm with a focus on small businesses and nonprofit organizations. We provide a range of services to help businesses get noticed by their audience, including graphic design, social media management, search engine optimization, and copywriting.

An elevator pitch is a great thing to have ready at a moment's notice. It defines what you feel is most important about your organization. Additionally, you appear more professional when you can answer "what do you do?" with a direct and precise response without "um's" and awkward ramblings. What is your company's elevator pitch?

Why we do what we do: We started this business because we want to help new and small organizations grow. We are passionate about design and technology, and want to use these passions to help others.

There's a great TED talk on this topic; I'd encourage you to watch it to help answer this question. If you know the "why" behind your business, we can help deliver that message to your audience. It is possible others will connect with your "why" and support you just because of it. Why do you do what you do?

What makes us unique: We are able to separate ourselves from our competition by focusing on a niche market (organizations under 50 employees) and using a data-driven approach to steer our decisions. Additionally, we are small and agile — allowing us to be be flexible in our approach. When something isn't working as expected, we can shift as needed.

It's important for you to understand why you stand out from your competition. If we can focus on what makes you different, we can market your organization in unique ways to appeal to a broader audience. What makes your business unique?

Try to answer the above questions for yourself. Stuck? Get in touch with us, and we'll help you work through these and other questions to position your business for future success.

Our Identity

Creating Luna Lab Company's branding was a long process. (Just settling on a name took a few months!) Once we had a name, we ran with it and went through several (several) rounds of ideation. Here's a sneak peek of some early sketches:

We have a notebook full of early sketches and ideas.

Some sketches were better than others.

Ultimately, we decided to pursue a "space" theme — highly technical, precise, and explorative. We gathered inspiration from around the web and got to work.

Whiteboarding session with inspiration.

Like I said, some sketches were better than others.

Finally:

Tell us what you think!

About the author

Nick VanMeter is the Co-founder and Digital Director of Luna Lab Company. He specializes in growing brands online through web design and development, search engine optimization, and social media management. Get in touch by emailing nick@lunalabco.com or calling 970.673.4472.